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“My history with their kind is not pleasant.”

“Gwen has not been treated the same way; I would never allow it.”

But they still had a vial of her blood. And now one of his, too. And despite their inability to fix Sanctuary, they’d been able to forge a collar to chain him and encasements to seal away his hands.

“They will not treat you the same way, either, so long as you do as I say.”

For all the hot water, a shiver ran down Orpheus’ spine. All hells, he thought they were done with threats.

“That is not a threat,” Atticus said, as if reading his mind. “It is a warning. If the Architects discover you cannot produce Netherflame, I can’t promise they won’t take what they do find useful from you.”

“My blood,” Orpheus whispered. “Blood magic.”

It was everything he feared, gambled away in a desperate bargain for everything he wanted. He and Atticus thrust into an unwelcome alliance, his love for Sanctuary and Gwen all that stood between Orpheus and the sycophants who would harvest him in the same way those boxes harvested water from the air. And in return he’d get free access to Gwen and all the resources he might need to…to steal her magic for himself.

Steam curled through the air, the edge of the bath going hazy.

But maybe it didn’t have to come to that. Maybe there was another path forward for both of them. Atticus saw in Orpheus a man to turn. An ally to make. A person he held the reins of, but couldn’t control, so what better plan than to make him a friend?

It wasn’t an awful plan. It sure was a hell of a lot better than Lore’s and Orpheus had fallen for her manipulations easily enough. The difference with Atticus was…he seemed genuine. In all their interactions, he’d never once lied, or tricked, or hurt him for the sake of it. He’d been honest, brutally so, but up front about everything he did. And he didn’t have a reason to stop now, not when Orpheus had done exactly as he asked. And what if he was right? What if Fenrir was dead and the Empire was in chaos, back to fighting amongst themselves and this was all that was left? A future on offer if he only played along.

No. No. These people had kidnapped him and sent a hunter after Fenrir. He couldn’t give in; he needed to escape. Save himself. Avenge Fenrir’s death.

But if he stayed, there was a chance at magic again. And all hells, if everything else was lost, why shouldn’t he take that?

Orpheus sank deeper into the water, hoping the steam hid the tears on his cheeks. Across the water Atticus had gone still, pale eyes locked onto Orpheus over the dark glimmer of the steaming bath, attention narrowed like a cat who’d spotted its prey.

“Are you—”

“Alright,” Orpheus snarled, wiping at his face. “I’ll do it.”

Quiet fell, only the rhythmic drip drip drip of the pipe breaking through, then the slosh of water.

“Does it hurt?”

Hands on his leg jerked him into the present.

“May I see?” Atticus asked, standing close.

Orpheus held his breath when Atticus drew his leg out of the water and began feeling along the break.

“It’s not so bad. Healing from a wound like this is always slow, but you’ve made progress,” Atticus murmured. “I’ll rebind it once we’re through, another two weeks and you can start putting some weight on it.”

“Thank you,” Orpheus murmured, more out of reflex than genuine gratitude.

“You can thank me by considering my next request.” Atticus lowered Orpheus’ leg back under water but did not return to his place against the basin wall.

Orpheus met his eyes and held his breath.

“It’s not enough,” Atticus said, quietly, like it hurt to admit. “Even if you could ignite every power cell inside the city, repair every individual piece of tech, it won’t be enough.”

Despite the steam curling up from the water, Orpheus went cold.

“Sanctuary doesn’t have the time to wait while we put it back together piecemeal. It needs a real source of power. An inferno, not a spark. She won’t survive without it, and we’ve already lost too much time chasing you down.”

You lost too much time staying hidden away while the rest of us suffered, Orpheus chose not to say.

“What are you proposing?” he asked instead.